The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) issued the following press release on the 8th anniversary of the kidnapping of both Bishops Youhanna Ibrahim and Paul Yazigi. Following is the text of the press release:

"Eight years after the Kidnapping of both Bishops Youhanna Ibrahim and Paul Yazigi, the Middle East Council of Churches once again calls upon concerned references, the Arab and international community, as well as humanitarian organizations, urging them to work to uncover the fate of Aleppo’s Bishops, priests and all kidnapped people. Since 2013, statements of condemnation and rejection of all forms of extremism and terrorism have not changed the bitter reality, nor have they taken a single step towards searching for the truth that we adhere to, no matter how harsh.

"As such, Dr. Michel Abs, MECC Secretary General, calls on all the concerned references and states that work for human rights and Christian presence in the East, and which seek to preserve the dignity of Christians in the region, to work seriously in hopes of  revealing the truth behind the crime and the perpetrators’ identity, and not fall into oblivion. Dr. Abs once again urges the respect of international conventions and the right to know the fate of the kidnapped and prisoners whoever they are. Moreover, Dr. Abs stressed the importance of actively striving to achieve a citizenship which incubates diversity within the civil states that respect pluralism."